Waste Heat to Power through Development of a Scalable Supercritical CO2-Based Heat Engine for Naval Shipboard Applications

The U.S. Navy is interested in exploring the development of innovative approaches to improve the specific fuel consumption of Naval vessels by incorporating compact, durable, and efficient waste heat recovery technologies into shipboard power generation module designs to convert turbine exhaust heat into power and improve overall system efficiency while reducing fuel consumption. Echogen Power Systems is commercializing a waste heat to power system through the development of a thermal engine using a modified Rankine Cycle with supercritical CO2 as the working fluid. The Echogen Cycle is a system platform, scalable from 250 kW to greater than 50 MW, that can operate with heat sources from 400 F to 1,200 F with efficiencies that exceed 30% in a small system footprint. Echogen proposes to explore the feasibility of using its thermal engine technology to improve efficiency and reduce fuel consumption for marine power generation modules. A preliminary design will be prepared that defines salient features, system performance, and addresses systems packaging and integration requirements for Naval applications. Key tasks to be addressed will include definition of waste heat exchanger designs with reduced thermo-mechanical stresses to maximize service life while minimizing back-pressure effects on the prime mover.